Clermont Commentary
April 6th 2003
by Jim Green
Janet and I competed in the Clermont Tri on April 6th. This
International Distance race is in it's 20th year. The new National Triathlon
Center is also in Clermont and we decided to spend another week there
training. Grandparents were in attendance to take our 4 year old to
Disney World every day so we had a week to act like real triathletes. I placed
4th in my Age Group 55-59 and Janet was 12th in her new masters age group of
40-44. The race was very hot, windy and hilly. The competition was also
very good with athletes from allover the country there with families taking
advantage of Spring Break. I found my run to be surprisingly strong. I
guess the Head Maggott, Norm Blair, has helped my running so I can at least
look like a runner out there.
After the race we trained for 17 more hours in the Clermont
area. Yes we were out on a 70 mile ride the day Asheville got the Thunder
Snow Storm.
As far as the National Training Center goes, there is an
absolute beautiful 50 meter long course pool there that is totally devoted to
Triathlon. The Masters practices at 5:30 AM just rocked. Shiela Taromina was
there along with several others training for Olympic spots. Good long
course swimming with the sun just coming up. 4000 meters in less than an hour
on a 1:30 base.
As far as running goes the brand new track is absolutely state
of the art. I have never run on anything so advanced. The running trails are
also very good with several trails throughout the many lakes in the
area.
Now the downside to the area. For a National Training Center I
was astounded to find how ignorant the staff was as to the roads available
for cycling. On checkin at the race site, I asked .several staff members
where to ride. None of them had a clue. I finally found some maps at the
store at the Triatlon Headquarters which had been put together by Central
Florida Triatlon club. There was one route of 40 miles and another of
60 miles and that was it!!! This is supposed to be the National Center for
our sport and no one can tell you where to safely ride.
Another warning. The
East part of Claremont is undergoing some serious development due to
Orlando being close by. Traffic is just horrendous. On the North and West side the
countryside is farm land and rural. Coming into and out of Claremont
traffic can be a serious challenge. A really windy day around the lakes during
rush hour is not for the faint hearted.
Over all I would give the National Training Center an A+ for
swimming and running and a C- for cycling. If they get their act together
and come up with some good well marked training routes that will be the
place to come to in the winter to train.
- James M. Green, PE, DEE, FNAFE, FASCE, NSPE, $#%#@@!!